The Russet-backed Thrushes 
converse with these brothers of the air,—may, indeed, pro¬ 
voke them to trebled utterance in passing. 
Russet-backed Thrushes are among the later arrivals 
of the season. Those which nest in southern latitudes, how¬ 
ever, arrive first; and others bound for Alaskan ports are 
sometimes passing over their heads 
while the local birds are sitting on 
their nests. Late May, therefore, 
is the nesting month for such as 
remain at the lower levels; but 
June nests are the rule in Transi¬ 
tion areas, and July nests in the 
upper mountain valleys. 
In home building this Thrush 
makes no effort at nest conceal¬ 
ment, trusting rather to the seclu¬ 
sion of its haunts. The materials 
which enter into the construction 
of the nest are themselves in a 
measure protective, especially in 
those numerous instances in which 
the exterior is composed entirely 
of green moss. At other times, 
twigs, bark-strips, and grasses are 
used; but the two things which 
give character to the nest of this 
Thrush are the mud-cup, or matrix, 
of mud and leaf-mold, and the lin¬ 
ing of dried leaf-skeletons. I have 
surprised a mother Russet at her 
task of cup-moulding, and verily 
her bib was as dirty as that of any 
child making mud pies. For although the beak serves for hod and trowel, 
the finishing touches, the actual moulding, must be accomplished by pres¬ 
sure of the bird’s breast. 
In favored regions the nests of this Thrush are excessively common. 
A small party of us, working together, found twelve in two hours on the 
Pajaro River bottom. During a season’s nesting in the northern humid 
belt (of Washington) Mr. D. E. Brown located about a hundred sets of the 
Russet-backed Thrush, taking no account of nests in other stages of occu¬ 
pation. In distance from the ground, nests varied from six inches to 
forty feet, although a four or five-foot elevation was about the average. 
Taken in Oregon 
Photo by Bohlman and Finley 
MOTHER RUSSET AND HER BROOD 
755 
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